Eastern Wastes
Population: 15,125 (75% Humans, 25% Half-Orcs) Government: Varies by Tribe Religions: Baqedwa, Jamut, Katzeqor, Ormuq, Qori, Uhlkhan, Yeroban Imports: None Exports: None Alignment: CG - CN - CE – N – NE – LN Life and Society The people of the Eastern Wastes live in large, communal tribes that range in size, from 100 to 500 members. Women and children are not included in most counts, so actual tribe numbers are roughly higher, sometimes double. Most tribes settle down in one specific area during the spring, summer and fall months, and wander the Eastern Wastes during the winter months. Tribal life is dominated by men. This is, most likely, due to the influence that Shou and Orc society had on the early natives. The leader of each tribe is a man called the “Khahng”, which means “Leader” in the native language. During wartime, or times when there needs to be mediation between different tribes, an “Akhkhahng”, or “Great Leader”, is selected. The Akhkhahng is selected by a council of all of the Khahng, called the “Khahnganatel”, or “Group of Leaders”. The Akhkhahng need not be the leader of the largest tribe, though he normally is. The Akhkhahng is chosen by the current needs of the tribes, political alliances and the ability to lead and be followed. Men are the primary hunters, although in times when the men are needed elsewhere, such as war, women take on this duty. Asides for feral yak, and the occasional mountain goat, sheep, ram, or bull, there is very little large game in the Eastern Wastes. Other sources of food include small game, such as rabbits, and birds. Only in dire situations do the natives slaughter horses for food. Horses are very special in their culture. In many tribes, a horse is equal to a woman, in terms of value and status. It is not uncommon for a wealthy suitor to give a horse to the parents of a woman he is courting, in exchange for their permission to exchange marriage vows. Horses were first introduced long ago, when the Shou were migrating east. They are not actually native to the area, before or after the destruction that created the Wastes long ago. At the time when they were first introduced, horses were seen as divine creatures. This is one of the reasons why the natives still have such a reverence for the creatures, thousands of years later. The people of the Eastern Wastes are very spiritual and superstitious people. Not only do they believe in magical deities, who reside in the heavens, but they also believe in a spirit world, that overlaps and interacts with the normal world. Priests and priestess’ speak to the gods and goddesses, while Druids and Shaman speak to the spirits. Some of their superstitions are based on some truth, while others seem to be nothing but nonsense. According to Eastern Barbarian legend, Yeroban, their deity of darkness and evil, was sealed in the western mountains (The Gates to the East) by the other gods. The mountains and the area near them have become corrupt, so no tribes ever go near the mountains. This legend makes sense, since Mountain Orcs, who, since ancient days, have harassed the natives of the area, live in the mountains. Another superstition is that when communing with the deities and the spirits, Priests, Priestess’, Druids and Shaman need to wear ritualistic oversized wooden masks, called “Sumaja”, to protect them. This superstition is nonsense, since wearing a rectangular, oversized wooden mask is not going to protect one from the wrath of the gods, or of angry spirits. Because of their distinct heritage, the people of the Eastern Wastes have a unique culture. Their culture, in the simplest terms, is a seamless combination of al-Bed, Shou, Orc and indigenous culture. For example, the language of these barbarians is unique, but it borrows heavily from the language of the al-Bed, the Shou and Orc. Those who understand those other three languages can understand most of the language of the Eastern Waste barbarians. Major Organizations Khahnganatel Major Geographic Features The Eastern Wastes consist, for the most part, of fairly desolate wastes and plains. Because of their environment, the people of the Eastern Wastes have adapted to the rugged terrain, and harsh temperatures of their lands. When the Moon crashed down upon the Eastern Wastes, the large amounts of magic that was released altered the weather patterns of the area. Summers are normally warm, and occasionally blisteringly hot, though the higher temperatures are very uncommon. The Spring and Fall months are the most seasonable, with cool mornings, temperate days, and cool nights. Winters are fairly frigid, with snowfall being fairly common. Plants also have a very hard time growing in the Eastern Wastes, due to the magics suffused into the area when the Moon fell. Some areas exist that are covered in more vegetation than others, but for the most part, the Eastern Wastes are bare dirt, rock and unhealthy grass and weeds. Some tribes have their shaman coax plants from the grounds to eat, but for the most part, plants are left for horses and yak to eat, while the Humans eat meat primarily. Important Sites None Regional History Very little history of the original indigenous people exists today. The only texts that describe what the lands were like before a large part of Morivae, the moon, fell, and the Eastern Wastes were created come from the Shou Imperium. Some of their most ancient records mention these people. Before the Eastern Wastes were born, the area was mountainous. Lush, verdant valley communities existed within this land. These people, it is believed, were stationary, and rarely left their valley homes. Besides for the occasional Orc or Dragon attack, these people lived in relative peace. There are three specific events that shaped the society that exists there today- the eastern migration of the Shou people, the falling of the Moon, and the expansion of the Empire of the Sands. Both were major influences in the development of the people living in these lands. Approximately three thousand years ago, the people who would become the Shou were migrating east, to escape the harassment of a group of Human tribes who were in possession of left over magic from the ancient Elven Empire of Maaledraar. Shou Kang, their leader, passed through the area that would become the Eastern Wastes in his eastward migration. It is believed that this was the first interaction these indigenous people had with foreigners. Even after so many years that passed, some of the cultural diffusion that took place during this time can still be seen. The Shou, in return for food, shelter and protection, gave these indigenous people horses, bows, and arrows, among other things. The culture of the Eastern Waste natives today still places a reverence around these items. The Fall, as some historians call it, occurred roughly four thousand years ago, in the year –2975. It is believed that the Fall killed hundreds of thousands of people, though these are just estimated figures. The Fall also reshaped the area. Lush mountains were crushed flat. Rivers, lakes and streams were all impacted and filled in. Trees disintegrated. Weather patterns became drastically altered, due to the large amount of magics exerted by the moon collapsing. It was because of the Fall that the Eastern Wastes became the nearly inhospitable plains that exist today. The civilizations of the people living in the area were completely destroyed. The majority of the people themselves were killed. Those who were not killed had to deal with the loss of everything they knew. The few remaining people split into familial tribes, and began nomadic lives, barely surviving from season to season. Nearly a century later, the people of the Eastern Wastes would be highly influenced by another culture yet again. In the short time period between –2894 and –2892, the people of the Eastern Wastes would be influenced not by one culture, not by two cultures, but by three- The al-Beds, of al-Beduine, the Shou of the Shou Empire and the Mountain Orcs of the Gates to the East. During this time, al-Beduine had become the Empire of the Sands, an empire that was supposed to have controlled the entire north, from the western boundary of the 1000-Eyes Desert, to the southern boundary of the Shrine of the Golden Blade, to the eastern boundary of the Gates to the East. The soldiers of the Empire of the Sands encountered much resistance by the Mountain Orcs in the Gates to the East. After months and months of a virtual dead-heat, the al-Bed Humans were finally able to route the Orcs from the mountains. The military commander in charge of the eastern expansion, whose name has been erased from history, ordered his soldiers to continue on east. He planned to trap the Orcs between his army, and the army of the Shou Empire, which should have been alerted to what the general was planning. Unfortunately for the Empire of the Sands, the messenger who was to deliver a message to Shou Jei Fong was killed, and the message was never received. After days marching through the Eastern Wastes, only days behind the Orcs they were chasing, the al-Bed army came upon the Wall of the Shou. The garrison commanders at the time misinterpreted the intentions of the al-Bed army, and believed them to be an invading force. The local garrison leaders had their forces attack and repel the eastern invaders, as well as the Orcs. This was a move that was later approved of by Shou Jei Fong. The majority of the al-Bed Humans fled back west. The majority of the Mountain Orcs fled back west as well. None of the Shou Humans from the Shou Empire went back to their homes, though. At the time, any Shou who set foot outside Shou boundaries were considered “tainted” by the outside world, were impure, and thus could not step foot on Shou soil ever again. These Shou Humans living in the Eastern Wastes become the foundation of the culture that would soon appear here. The Shou army that was stranded in the Eastern Wastes was composed solely of men. Eventually, they came upon many of the indigenous tribes, and intermingled. The al-Bed wanderers in these lands did the same, as did the Orcs who were left behind. Eventually, these groups intermingled with each other, and after hundreds of years, became their own distinct culture based on the cultures of the al-Bed Humans, the Shou Humans, the indigenous Humans and the Mountain Orcs of the Gates to the East.